Single digital wallet across multiple payment platforms

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure involves a method of conducting a transaction. In one aspect, the method includes: displaying a media program on a media display device; indicating, while the media program is being displayed, an item associated with the media program is available for purchase; receiving authentication information of a prospective purchaser of the item; and completing a purchase of the item in response to the authentication information. In another aspect, the method includes: receiving, from a media display device, a user authentication request that contains user login credentials; granting the user authentication request in response to the user login credentials; and sending an authentication permission to the media display device; wherein the receiving and the sending are each performed such that the user login credentials and the authentication permission are sent through one or more intermediate hops without being inspected by any of the intermediate hops.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Appl.Ser. No. 61/453,843, filed Mar. 17, 2011 and titled “PAYMENTAUTHENTICATION AND AUTHORIZATION NON-WEB DEVICES,” which is incorporatedby reference in its entirety. The present application is also related toconcurrently filed U.S. application No. 13/420,685 entitled “MAKINGINTERACTIVE PURCHASES THROUGH A MEDIA DISPLAY DEVICE,” and U.S.application Ser. No. 13/420,663 entitled “SINGLE DIGITAL WALLET ACROSSMULTIPLE PAYMENT PLATFORMS,”,both of which are incorporated by referencein their entirety.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The present disclosure generally relates to conducting electronictransactions and, more particularly, to conducting transactions using amedia display device such as a television set.

2. Related Art

Before the rise of electronic media, consumers usually go to physical“brick and mortar” stores to conduct their purchases. As electroniccommerce became increasingly popular in recent years, consumers havebeen given more options to complete their shopping without leaving theirhomes. For example, the consumer may see a product advertised during aTV infomercial. If the consumer wishes to purchase the product, he maythen call the merchant selling the product or go to the merchant'swebsite to complete the purchase. However, transactions like the onedescribed above may be cumbersome (for example, they require theconsumer to leave the TV), may not be interactive enough, and may alsolack sufficient security.

Therefore, while existing electronic commerce transactions involving TVshave been generally adequate for their intended purposes, they have notbeen entirely satisfactory in every aspect. It would be advantageous tomake it easier for prospective consumers to conduct secure transactionsthrough a TV.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure involves a method of conducting a transaction,comprising: receiving, through a media display device, a first requestto conduct a first transaction with a first merchant, wherein the firstrequest contains a first payment information provided by a user;facilitating the first request based on the first payment information;receiving, through the media display device, a second request to conducta second transaction with a second merchant different from the firstmerchant, wherein the second request contains a second paymentinformation; and facilitating the second request based on the secondpayment information; wherein the facilitating the first request and thefacilitating the second request are both performed by a third partypayment provider.

The present disclosure involves an apparatus comprising anon-transitory, tangible machine-readable storage medium storing acomputer program, wherein the computer program contains machine-readableinstructions that when executed electronically by processors, perform:receiving, through a media display device, a first request to conduct afirst transaction with a first merchant, wherein the first requestcontains a first payment information provided by a user; facilitatingthe first request based on the first payment information; receiving,through the media display device, a second request to conduct a secondtransaction with a second merchant different from the first merchant,wherein the second request contains a second payment information; andfacilitating the second request based on the second payment information;wherein the facilitating the first request and the facilitating thesecond request are both performed by a third party payment provider.

The present disclosure involves a method of conducting a transaction,comprising: receiving, from a user, a first purchasing request to buy afirst product from a first merchant, wherein the first purchasingrequest is entered through a media display device and contains logincredentials for accessing an account of the user with a paymentprovider; authorizing the first purchasing request based on the logincredentials; receiving, from the user, a second purchasing request tobuy a second product from a second merchant different from the firstmerchant, wherein the second purchasing request is entered through themedia display device and contains the login credentials for accessingthe account of the user; and authorizing the second purchasing requestbased on the login credentials.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an example flowchart for performing a transactionaccording to various aspects of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 2-9 illustrate example user interfaces for conducting atransaction through a television according to various aspects of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example flowchart for performing a transactionaccording to various aspects of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 11-15 illustrate example user interfaces for conducting atransaction through a television according to various aspects of thepresent disclosure.

FIGS. 16-17 illustrate example media infrastructures for enabling theconducting the transactions through a television according to variousaspects of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 18-21 illustrate example flowcharts for performing a transactionaccording to various aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 22 illustrates a block diagram of a computer system forimplementing various methods and devices described according to variousaspects of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

It is to be understood that the following disclosure provides manydifferent embodiments, or examples, for implementing different featuresof the present disclosure. Specific examples of components andarrangements are described below to simplify the present disclosure.These are, of course, merely examples and are not intended to belimiting. Various features may be arbitrarily drawn in different scalesfor simplicity and clarity.

Before the rise of electronic media, consumers usually had to conducttheir shopping outside their homes. A prospective consumer would have togo visit one or more physical “brick and mortar” stores to survey themerchandise available at each store. If the consumer is interested in apiece of merchandise, he then buys and pays for the merchandise at thestore that offers it for sale.

As electronic commerce became more popular in recent years, consumershave been given more flexibility regarding being able to do shoppingwithout having to leave their homes. For example, a consumer may see aproduct being advertised while watching an infomercial on television(TV). The infomercial may display the merchant's phone number and/orwebsite address. If the consumer is interested in purchasing theproduct, he may call the merchant or log on to the merchant's website tocomplete the purchase. However, these types of transactions may beinconvenient to the consumer, as the consumer may not be able toinstantly buy the product but may be forced to leave the TV. Inaddition, these transactions may not be secure enough.

According to the various aspects of the present disclosure, an improvedmethod of conducting a transaction through a TV is disclosed, asdiscussed in more detail below.

FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating a method 20 of purchasing a productvia a TV set through a third party payment provider/platform. Forexample, the third party payment provider may be PAYPAL, INC®. of SanJose, Calif. or another suitable financial institution. The method 20includes a step 25, in which one or more products or pieces ofmerchandise is displayed on TV during a TV program. The products mayinclude physical and tangible goods, including (but not limited to)clothing, electronics, tools, toys, household appliances, books, movies,automotive components, sporting goods, groceries, etc. The products mayalso include digital goods, which include goods that are stored,delivered, and/or used in an electronic format. As non-limitingexamples, digital goods may include electronic-books, digital music,digital images, digital videos, virtual items, etc. The virtual itemsmay be virtual currency or other types of precious items (e.g., virtualgold, virtual weapons/armor, virtual medicine, virtual gems) that can beobtained and used in a virtual reality role-playing computer game. Insome cases, the “product” being offered may even include an opportunityto donate to a charity.

The method 20 continues with a step 30, in which a consumer is promptedto enter his account verification information associated with the thirdparty payment provider. In some embodiments, the consumer may beprompted to enter his mobile telephone number (or another suitablepersonal identification number (PIN)) linked to his account with thethird party payment provider. In other embodiments, the consumer may beprompted to enter a username and a password that are associated with hisaccount with the third party payment provider. In certain embodiments,the consumer may be allowed to choose to enter either the mobiletelephone number, or the username and password, or another suitableidentifier associated with his account.

The method 20 continues with a decision step 35 to determine if theaccount information has been verified. In embodiments where the consumerchooses to enter a mobile telephone number (or another suitable PIN),the decision step 35 checks to see if the entered mobile telephonenumber or PIN matches any existing numbers associated with the thirdparty payment provider. If the answer is no, then the method 20 mayproceed to a step 40, in which the consumer is prompted to register foran account with the third party payment provider. In some embodiments,if the consumer wishes not to register for an account, a guest PIN maybe sent to the consumer (e.g., as a text message to the consumer'smobile telephone or as an email to the consumer's email address) uponthe consumer's request. The guest PIN provides a temporary login for theconsumer to complete the transaction.

In a similar manner, in embodiments where the consumer chooses to entera username and a password, the decision step 35 checks to see if thecombination of entered username and password matches an existing accountwith the third party payment provider. If the answer is no, then themethod 20 proceeds to the step 40, in which the consumer is prompted toregister for an account with the third party payment provider. Onceagain, if the consumer chooses not to register for an account at thistime, a temporary guest login may be sent to the consumer to completethe transaction.

If the answer from the decision step 35 is yes—whether as a result of amatched mobile phone number or a correct combination of username andpassword being entered—the method 20 continues with a step 45 in whichthe purchase is confirmed with the consumer. In various embodiments, thepurchase confirmation may display to the consumer information such asthe consumer's name and address as well as the product's name, quantity,and price. In some embodiments, as a part of the execution of the step45, the consumer may be given an option to change one or more aspects ofthe purchase, including but not limited to the quantity or theconsumer's shipping address.

The method 20 continues with a step 50, in which it is determinedwhether automatic login should be used for subsequent purchases. In someembodiments, the consumer may be specifically prompted as to whether hewould prefer to have the login information “remembered” for hissubsequent purchases. Having the login information “remembered” isconvenient when the consumer lives alone and/or is using his own TV athome. On the other hand, if the consumer is traveling (e.g., watching aTV program at a hotel at which he is staying) or has to share the TVwith other roommates, then the consumer may choose not to have his logininformation remembered for security purposes. Based on the answerreceived form the consumer, the method 20 may either “remember” ordiscard the login information.

It is understood that the method 20 discussed above merely illustratesan example process flow and is not intended to be limiting, and thatadditional steps may be performed before, during, or after the steps25-50 of the method 20. To facilitate a better understanding of thevarious aspects of the method 20, FIGS. 2-9 are provided to graphicallyillustrate some embodiments of the method 20.

Referring to FIG. 2, an example user interface 100A is displayed.According to the various aspects of the present disclosure, the userinterface 100A is a screenshot of a TV program that the consumer iswatching. In some embodiments, the TV program may be a movie, a TV show,a music video, a commercial, a documentary, an educational program, asporting event, a video game, or another suitable media programdisplayed on the consumer's TV set. According to certain aspects of thepresent disclosure, the TV program is being displayed to the TV setthrough a video stream (or data stream). At various points of the videostream, there are embedded trigger points in the video stream to notifythe consumer that an offer for a merchandise is available.

In some embodiments, the offer may be displayed as a text box (or adialog box) 110A, which contains a brief description of the productbeing offered. As discussed above with reference to FIG. 1, the productbeing offered may be a tangible piece of merchandise or a digital item.As an example, the product being offered in FIG. 2 is the musicalsoundtrack from the TV program, which is a movie. As other non-limitingexamples, the product being offered may be a piece of clothing (e.g.,for a specific brand name) that the actor/actress is wearing, a couponfor a restaurant or store shown in the background, or a deal to buy anitem appearing in the scene of the TV program (e.g., a 20% off offer tobuy a motorcycle that is shown in the scene). In other words, theproduct being offered is integrated into or “embedded” within the TVprogram. At predetermined times while the TV is program is being shownto the consumer, the right offers will be triggered and be displayed tothe consumer.

In some embodiments, the availability of the offer will initially bedisplayed as a small icon (not illustrated herein), which may be shownunobtrusively near a corner of the screen so as to not disrupt theconsumer's viewing of the TV program. The icon may or may not indicatewhat the product being offered will be. If the consumer is interested infinding out more about the offer, he can click on the icon, which maythen expand into the text box 110A shown in FIG. 2. In certainembodiments, the consumer may be given a choice with respect to how hewishes to be notified of the offer: he may elect not to be notified ofany offers at all, or he may elect to be first notified of anavailability of an offer with the small unobtrusive icon, or he mayelect to be notified of the offer with a text box such as the text box110A of FIG. 2. The consumer may set these preferences before or duringthe TV program is being played.

In addition to displaying the description of the product being offered,the text box 110A may also display the price and/or quantity of theproduct, as well as one or more payment options. For example, a logo ofthe third party payment provider (e.g., PAYPAL) may be displayed as oneof the payment options.

Referring now to FIG. 3, once the consumer chooses to pay with the thirdparty payment provider, an example user interface 100B is displayed tothe consumer, in which the consumer is prompted to enter suitableidentification information associated with his account with the thirdparty payment provider. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3, theuser interface 100B contains a text box 110B that prompts the consumerto enter a mobile telephone number that is linked to his third partypayment provider account. In some embodiments, the consumer may enterthe mobile telephone number through a suitable mechanism such as a TVremote.

Referring now to FIG. 4, after the consumer inputs his mobile telephonenumber, an example user interface 100C is displayed to the consumer. Inthis case, it has been verified that the mobile telephone number thatthe consumer has entered does match a telephone number for an existinguser in the third party payment provider's system. Consequently, theuser interface 100C displays a text box 110C that prompts the consumerto enter a secret code or a PIN associated with the correct user. Forexample, the secret code or PIN may be a multi-digit number.

Referring now to FIG. 5, the consumer has entered the correct secretcode or PIN and has been successfully verified, and he is now considered“logged-in” to the system. It is understood that in some embodiments,the consumer may also log in to the system using an email address and apassword, rather than the mobile phone number and a PIN. The consumermay be given the option to choose a preferred login method. For reasonsof simplicity, the user interfaces pertaining to the email/passwordlogin method is not illustrated herein. Regardless of which method theconsumer chooses to log in to the system, once he has been correctlyverified, an example user interface 100D then displays a text box 110Dto the consumer. The text box 110D may contain details regarding thetransaction, such as the amount total of the purchase and/or theshipping address of the purchaser. The text box 110D may also allow theconsumer to change the shipping address.

Referring now to FIG. 6, once the consumer confirms that all thepurchasing information is correct and follows through with the purchase,an example user interface 100E is then displayed to the consumer. Theexample user interface 100E includes a text box 110E that informs theconsumer that the transaction is successful and that the consumer neednot login to the third party payment platform for subsequent purchases.The text box 110E may also optionally inform the consumer that anelectronic confirmation (such as an email confirmation) regarding thepurchase may be sent to the consumer soon.

As discussed above with reference to FIG. 1, if the consumer does nothave an account with the third party payment provider and does not wishto register for an account, he may be given a temporary guest login tocomplete the transaction. An example of this situation is graphicallyillustrated in FIG. 7, in which a user interface 100F displays a textbox 110F to the consumer. The text box 110F may inform the consumer thata guest PIN or temporary secret code has been sent to the consumer'smobile phone (or email address), and the consumer is prompted to enterthat guest PIN. Once the correct PIN is entered, the purchasingtransaction may resume in a similar manner as discussed above withreference to FIGS. 5-6.

On the other hand, if the consumer does not have an account with thethird party payment provider but is ready to register for an account, anexample user interface 100G may be displayed to the consumer, asillustrated in FIG. 8. The user interface 100G may include a text box110G that informs the consumer that additional account signupinformation has been sent to his mobile phone or email address. Inaddition, the consumer may also visit a website of the third partypayment provider in order to sign up for an account.

Also as discussed above with reference to FIG. 1, the consumer may begiven an option to log in to the third party payment providerautomatically for the subsequent purchases. This aspect of the presentdisclosure is graphically illustrated in FIG. 9, which asks the consumersuch question in a text box 110H. If the consumer chooses yes, then heno long needs to perform a login to the third party payment providerevery time. Instead, his login information will be “remembered” forsubsequent purchases.

The discussions above pertain to the purchase of a single item as anexample. According to the various aspects of the present disclosure, theconsumer may indeed purchase multiple products in the same transaction.FIG. 10 is a flowchart of a method 200 that illustrates an exampleprocess flow for performing a purchasing transaction involving multipleproducts.

Referring to FIG. 10, the method 200 includes a step 205, in which oneor more products are displayed on TV. This step is similar to the step25 of FIG. 1. For example, as a live TV program is being displayed tothe consumer, the consumer is notified that a product may be available.The product may be associated with or embedded as an element within theTV program.

The method 200 continues with a decision step 210 to determine whetheror not the consumer is a known user once the consumer decides topurchase the product. In some embodiments, the consumer may add theproduct to a virtual or digital “shopping cart.” As the consumerperforms this transaction, the method 200 will determine if the consumeris a known user (e.g., a consumer who has been authenticated previously)or is a new user. If the answer from the decision step is no—meaning theuser has not been previously authenticated—then the method proceeds to astep 215 to authenticate the consumer. The execution of the step 215 mayinvolve substantially similar processes as those discussed above withreference to FIG. 1, where a consumer is authenticated for the firsttime.

On the other hand, if the decision step confirms that the consumer hadalready been authenticated as a known user for the third party paymentprovider, the method 200 proceeds to step 220, in which the productselected by the consumer/user is added to his digital shopping cart. Thecart may or may not include other products previously selected and addedto the cart by the consumer. In some embodiments, the products in thecart may be displayed as a list, and the consumer may be able to scrollup and down the list to view the details of each product. The consumermay also be given the option to edit the cart, for example changing thequantity of each item in the cart.

The method 200 then proceeds to a decision step 225 to determine if theconsumer is ready to check out. If the answer is no, the method 200 thenproceeds to a step 230, in which the products in the cart are saved fora later checkout, and the consumer may resume watching the TV program.If the decision step 225 determines that the consumer is ready to checkout, the method 200 proceeds to a decision step 225 to determine if theconsumer has been authenticated. If the answer is no, the method 200proceeds to a step 240 in which the consumer is authenticated in aprocedure similar to that discussed above with reference to FIG. 1. Forexample, the consumer may be authenticated using a mobile phone numberand a PIN linked to the third party payment provider account, or usingthe correct combination of a username and a password.

If the consumer had already been authenticated (or after the consumerfinishes the authenticated process in step 240), the method 200 proceedsto a step 245, in which the purchasing details are verified with theuser. For example, the consumer may be prompted to confirm that thequantity and price of the products in the cart are correct, and/or thathis shipping address is correct. After the consumer confirms thepurchasing details, the method 200 proceeds to a step 250 to completethe purchase.

The method 200 discussed above merely illustrates an example processflow and is not intended to be limiting, and additional steps may beperformed before, during, or after the steps 205-250 of the method 200.To facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of themethod 200, FIGS. 11-15 are provided to graphically illustrate someembodiments of the method 200.

Referring to FIG. 11, an example user interface 300A is displayed. Theuser interface 300A is similar to the user interface 100A of FIG. 2. Forexample, it may be a screenshot of a TV program that the consumer iswatching. And similarly, an offer may be communicated to the consumer atvarious points of the TV program. The offer may be displayed as a textbox (or a dialog box) 310A, which contains a brief description of theproduct being offered. The text box 310A gives the consumer an option toadd the product to a digital or virtual shopping cart or save it for alater purchase.

Referring now to FIG. 12, an example user interface 300B is displayed tothe consumer after the consumer adds the product to the cart. The userinterface 300B shows a text box 310B, in which the consumer's shoppingcart is displayed. The consumer may be able to scroll through theshopping cart to view the details associated with each item in the cart.In some embodiments, the consumer may be able to edit the shopping cart,such as changing the quantity of the items in the cart. The consumer caninitiate the checkout process, or alternatively save one or more itemsin the cart for a later purchase.

Referring now to FIG. 13, as the consumer initiates the checkoutprocess, an example user interface 300C is displayed. The user interface300C includes a text box 310C that prompts the consumer to enter hislogin information for a third party payment provider. In someembodiments, the consumer can choose to enter a mobile number and a PINto authenticate himself. In other embodiments, the consumer can chooseto enter a username and a password to authenticate himself.

Referring now to FIG. 14, the transaction details are displayed to theconsumer in a text box 310D in an example user interface 300D. Theconsumer is asked to verify details such as the consumer's shippingaddress and/or the price/quantity in the cart. Thereafter, in FIG. 15,an example user interface 300E includes a text box 310E that displays aconfirmation for the purchasing transaction.

In all the above examples, the consumer may interact with the TV (forexample selecting different options or inputting text) in a variety ofways. In some embodiments, the consumer may use a remote control toperform the transaction. In other embodiments, the consumer may use agesture-based mechanism to perform the transaction. The gesture-basedmechanism may include a sensor device coupled to the TV, where thesensor device can detect gestures or physical movements of the consumerand interpret the corresponding meaning of the gestures. For example, aparticular hand waving motion may correspond to an “enter” or “yes”command, while a different hand waving motion may correspond to a“cancel” or “no” command. In yet other embodiments, the TV screen itselfmay be touch-sensitive, so that the user can interact with the TV setthrough the touch-sensitive controls.

Compared to conventional shopping experiences, the purchasing schemedescribed above offers the consumers greater flexibility and a moreinteractive shopping experience. For example, the products can beoffered to the consumer throughout a TV program that the consumer iswatching. If the consumer is interested in a product, he need not leavehis couch (or bed) and go make a phone call or log online to contact themerchant. Rather, he can browse through the available products and makea purchase while he is watching the TV program. Of course, the user mayhave the option to pause the TV program as he is making the purchase.The user may also choose to configure the notification icon of a productavailability to be unobtrusive so as to not diminish his TV viewingexperience. In addition, the TV program containing offers may or may notbe live. The consumer may still interact with the TV the same way evenif the TV program is on tape delay or is a digitally pre-recordedprogram.

Moreover, while the consumer may initiate and complete the purchasethrough a TV, he is not required to do so. In some embodiments, theconsumer may just manipulate his third party payment shopping cart(e.g., add or delete items to his cart) by interacting with the TV, andhe can finish the checkout process on any computing device later, forexample after he has finished watching the TV program. Stateddifferently, the consumer can initiate a commercial transaction throughTV, but he is not necessarily required to finish that commercialtransaction through TV.

Furthermore, since the products being offered are integrated into (orembedded within) the TV program (e.g., an article of clothing worn bythe lead actress or a car driven by the actor), the product isdiscretely and yet efficiently advertised to the consumer. As such, theconsumer may be able to better gauge his interest level of the product.For example, the consumer might decide that the dress or jewelry worn bythe actress would look very good on his wife, or that the soundtrackfrom the movie is really enjoyable. Because the consumer can moreaccurately gauge his interest level in the product, and because he canmake a purchase instantly using the TV, the consumer is more likely tofollow through with the purchase. Hence, the type of advertisingplatform discussed above not only offers convenience to the consumers,but also offers advantages to merchants as well.

The discussions above have used an example of a single user conducting atransaction securely through a TV. However, a single user case is merelyone of many example scenarios according to various aspects of thepresent disclosure, and some additional multi-user scenarios are brieflydiscussed below.

In one multi-user scenario, a father logs into his XBOX® account anddecides to make a purchase in the XBOX market place. The father choosesa sports game that he would like to play with his son over the weekend.On a payment option screen, he may select to pay with a third partyprovider, with which he has an account. This may be the first time thatthe father is using his third party payment provider account in the XBOXmarketplace. After the father enters his security credentials to log inthe third party payment provider, he is given an option to add anaccount for other eligible users. The father may then set up an accountfor his son and enters the required information for his son's account.The father can then fund his son's account after it is set up.Thereafter, the son may make purchases from the XBOX marketplace usingthe balance in his new account with the third party payment provider.The son may also make purchases through the TV in the interactive mannerdescribed above.

In another multi-user scenario, user A and user B are roommates livingtogether and thus share the same TV (though the TV may be owned byeither the user A or the user B). Suppose that while watching a TVprogram together, the user A sees a product that she would like topurchase but is not sure as to how to conduct the purchasingtransaction. The user A asks the user B to make the purchase for her.The user B initiates the transaction using the third party paymentprovider, and during the login process, the user B is given an option to“switch users.” By choosing this option, a mobile phone number for theuser A may be entered. If the user A does not have an account with thethird party payment provider, the TV will display a notification messageindicating that a message has been sent to the user A's phone. The userA may then set up her account with the third party payment provider,which may be done using any suitable computing device. Thereafter, boththe users A and B may conduct purchasing transactions interactivelythrough the TV in the manner described above. During the purchasingtransaction, the users A and B may switch back and forth between theirthird party payment provider accounts, depending on who is making thepurchase.

The infrastructure of implementing the interactive shopping through a TVwill now be described. Referring to FIG. 16, a simplified block diagramof a media infrastructure 400 is illustrated. The media infrastructure400 includes a TV device 410. The TV device 410 may include a televisionset, which may be an analog TV set or a digital TV set. The TV device410 may also include a set-top box (STB).

The TV device 410 includes software (e.g., STB software) that supportsvarious applications. Examples of STB software include applicationsbased on an Enhanced TV Binary Interchange Format specification (EBIF).EBIF is a multimedia content format defined by a specification developedunder the OpenCable project. The primary purpose of the EBIF contentformat is to represent an optimized collection of widget and byte codespecifications that define one or more multimedia pages, similar to webpages, but specialized for use within an enhanced television orinteractive television system. An EBIF resource (file), i.e., a sequenceof bytes that conforms to the EBIF content format, forms the primaryinformation contained in an ETV Application. An ETV User Agent acquires,decodes, presents (widgets), and executes (actions) contained in an EBIFresource in order to present a multimedia page to an end-user.

Of course, EBIF is just one of the many ways that can enable the mediainfrastructure 400. Other standards or specifications may also be usedto enable an interactive TV infrastructure.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 16, a TV commerce app 420 isimplemented as software on the TV device 410. The TV commerce app 420may pertain to one or more specific merchants. In some embodiments, theTV commerce app 420 comes pre-installed on the TV device 410. In otherembodiments, the user of the TV device 410 may install the TV commerceapp 420 after the TV device 410 has been purchased and installed. The TVcommerce app 420 may be invoked when the TV is displaying a TV program.For example, as a video stream comes through the TV device 410, theremay be one or more trigger points embedded in the video stream. Thesetrigger points may be capable of invoking one or more specific TVcommerce apps such as the TV commerce app 420.

A third party payment provider component 430 is also implemented assoftware on the TV device 410. The third party payment providercomponent 430 will handle security tasks such as verifying username andpasswords or PINs (or the temporary login information) entered by theuser. The third party payment provider component 430 can also handleuser presentation. The third party payment provider component 430communicates securely with the third party payment provider. Forexample, the third party payment provider component 430 may encrypt thecommunication taking place between itself and external devices. In someembodiments, the third party payment provider and a vendor for the TVdevice 410 may agree on public keys bundled with a library of the thirdparty payment provider. The third party payment provider component 430interacts with device specific intelligence and collects device data.

In some embodiments, the third party payment provider component 430includes a front end component that resides on a TV set and a back endcomponent that resides on a set top box. The front end component isconfigured for direct interaction with the user. For example, the frontend component may display the various user interfaces discussed above inassociation with FIG. 2-9 or 11-15. The front end component may instructthe TV set to display a text box of 300 pixels by 500 pixels, with thetexts being a certain font. The back end component is a lower levelcomponent and handles tasks such as encryption algorithms and encryptionkeys. In some embodiments, the back end component includes a library,for example an EBIF library. The user may interact with the front endcomponent, and the front end component communicates with the back endcomponent, and the back end component communicates with a third partypayment provider server discussed later.

Similar to the TV commerce app 420, the third party payment providercomponent 430 may also be pre-installed on the TV device 410 or may beinstalled on the TV device 410 afterwards. The third party paymentprovider component 430 interacts with the TV commerce app 420 tofacilitate an interactive commercial transaction through TV as discussedabove.

The TV device 410 may also contain a program guide app 440 and firmware450. The program guide app 440 is shown herein to illustrate theinternal workings of a cable set top box. The firmware 450 is acomponent that exists in many set top boxes and that controls thecommunication and other functions of the set top box. The firmware 450may interact with the third party payment provider component 430 inorder to perform certain tasks of the set top box.

The media infrastructure 400 includes a network 455. In the embodimentillustrated in FIG. 16, the network 455 is a cable TV network. The cableTV network 455 includes a plurality of homes 460. A TV device like theTV device 410 may be implemented inside each of the homes 460. The homes460 may be divided into different groups, where the homes in each groupshare a common node 470. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 16, asubset of the homes 460A may be connected to a node 470A through commoncabling, while a different subset of the homes 460B may be connected toa node 470B through common cabling.

In a hierarchical manner, a group of the nodes 470 are then connected toa data equipment 480. The data equipment 480 is then connected to a datacenter 490. Data communication may take place between the nodes 470 andthe data equipment 480, and between the data equipment 480 and the datacenter 490. The data center 490 may generate media content or mediaprograms by itself, or may receive media programs generated by a mediaprovider (not illustrated herein) and relay the media programs to the TVdevice 410, which is done through the data equipment 480, the node 470A,and the homes 460A. The nodes 470, the data equipment 480, and the datacenter 490 may contain suitable machines or equipment for carrying ordelivering the media content. For example, the nodes 470 may includemultiplexers for multiplexing or consolidating signals. The dataequipment 480 and the data center 490 may include may include computerservers for processing signals.

The cable TV network 455 serves as a “bridge” for connecting the TVdevice 410 to the Internet, since the TV device 410 itself otherwiselacks Internet connection capabilities. It is also understood that othertypes of networks may also be used to provide Internet access to the TVdevice 410. For example, a satellite TV network may be used in place ofthe cable TV network 455. The satellite TV network may includeappropriate equipment such as satellite dishes, transmitters, receivers,etc. Other alternative networks (such as IPTV networks) may also beimplemented, but they are not discussed in detail herein for reasons ofsimplicity.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 16, the data center 490communicates with a third party payment provider end point 500. In someembodiments, the third party payment provider end point 500 includes anapplication programming interface (API) system built with intelligenceto understand what device(s) is interacting with it. Based on the devicedata and type, the third party payment provider end point 500 willpresent users with the appropriate presentation and security challenge.Also based on device data and type, the third party payment provider endpoint 500 will allow or deny certain types of transaction. The thirdparty payment provider end point 500 may also apply the correspondingrisk models/rules based on the device data and type. The third partypayment provider end point 500 may include one or more computer or dataservers for processing these various tasks.

As examples, the third party payment provider end point 500 includessoftware modules or software engines such as a user authenticationsoftware module 510, a risk assessment software module 520, and acore/money transaction software module 530. The user authenticationsoftware module 510 can interact with the third party payment providercomponent 430 to verify the security credentials entered by a user. Therisk assessment software module 520 can monitor the purchasing historyof a user and detect anomalous purchases. For example, if the user hasnever bought any merchandise exceeding 100 dollars, then a supposedpurchase of 5,000 dollars may be flagged by the risk assessment softwaremodule 520, which can then send an alert to the user and/or appropriatefinancial institutions. The core/money transaction software module 530represents a merchant infrastructure in some embodiments. For example,the core/money transaction software module 530 may facilitate themovement and transfer of funds between a merchant and users' accounts.

It is understood that the third party payment provider end point 500 mayinclude a plurality of additional software or hardware modules that aredesigned and configured to accomplish specific tasks, but they are notdiscussed herein for reasons of simplicity.

As discussed above, a user may stream media programs to his TV device410 from a media content or media program provider. For example, themedia programs may be streamed from the data center 490, to the dataequipment, to the node 470, to the home 460, and then to the TV device410. In some embodiments, the video stream is an analog video stream.Offer trigger mechanisms are embedded at various points in the analogvideo stream. For example, the media program may be a commercial for aclothing apparel. The trigger mechanisms communicate with the TVcommerce app 420. In some embodiments, the TV commerce app 420 iscustomized for a specific type of media program, and the TV commerce appactively “listens” for the right trigger mechanism as the media programis being streamed to the TV device 410.

Once a trigger mechanism is identified, the TV commerce app 420 maydisplay a small icon or a larger pop-up window on a viewing screen ofthe TV device 410, which indicates to the user watching the TV programthat an offer to purchase one or more specific types of cloth apparel isavailable. When the user is ready to make a purchase based on thedisplayed offer, the TV commerce app 420 interacts with the third partypayment provider component 430 to facilitate the transaction. Forexample, the TV commerce app 420 may request the third party paymentprovider component 430 to display a login screen overlying the TVprogram screen itself, so that the user can enter his login credentials(i.e., PIN, username/password, etc) for the third party paymentprovider.

Data 550—which may contain the user's login credentials and/or othersensitive information such as the user's credit card or bank accountnumbers—is then sent to the third party payment provider end point 500for verification. As discussed above, since the TV device 410 itselflacks Internet connectivity, the data 550 is delivered to the thirdparty provider end point 500 through the network 455. In the embodimentillustrated in FIG. 16, the data 550 is routed outside the home 460(inside which the TV device 410 is located) and travels through the node470, the data equipment 480, and thereafter the data center 490, beforeeventually reaching the third party payment provider end point 500. Thenode 470, the data equipment 480, and the data center 490 may each bereferred to as an “intermediate hop,” since they are intermediate relaypoints between the TV device 410 and the third party payment providerend point 500.

When the third party payment provider end point 500 receives the data550 from the TV device 410, the third party payment provider end point500 determines whether the credentials entered by the user matches withan existing user's account. If not, the third party payment provider endpoint 500 may send a message back to the TV device 410 through thenetwork 455 to prompt the user to either re-enter his login informationor to register for an account with the third party payment provider endpoint 500 in case the user has not registered for one yet. If the usercredentials are correct, the third party payment provider end point 500may grant the user's authentication request to log in to the server ofthe third party payment provider end point 500. The third party paymentprovider end point 500 may then send the TV device 410 data 550 thatcontains an authentication permission. For example, the authenticationpermission may include an authentication token. The authentication tokenallows the user operating the TV device 410 to gain access to the thirdparty payment provider end point 500, but may impose limitations on suchaccess. For example, the authentication token may restrict such accessto a specific time period or other session related elements, or even fora specific device type.

After the user has been authenticated, the third party payment providercomponent 430 may also display a user authorization screen to collectthe user's authorization for the purchasing transaction. The relevantrequest is sent to the third party payment provider end point 500, alongwith the authentication token. The third party payment provider endpoint 500 may respond back with an authorization token. The third partypayment provider component (specifically, the back end component) maythen make a request (along with the authorization token) to the thirdparty payment provider end point 500 to execute the payment

Thus, it can be seen that the communication between the TV device 410and the third party payment provider end point 500 is a two-waycommunication, as each entity may send and receive data 550 from theother. As discussed above, such data is delivered through theintermediate hops of the network 455. Due to these intermediate hops,high levels of security measures will be taken to ensure that the data550 is not compromised while it is in transit from the TV device 410 tothe third party payment provider end point 500, or vice versa. Invarious embodiments, these security measures include channel encryptionand/or message encryption. Also, in certain embodiments, thecommunication between the data center 490 and the third party paymentprovider end point 500 is based on client mutual authentication, forexample through a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) handshake, so as toauthenticate the data center. Also because of the intermediate hops, thethird party payment provider end point 500 will possess intelligence toknow the specific route taken by the data 550 to reach the third partypayment provider end point 500.

Based on the discussions above, it can be seen that one aspect of themedia infrastructure 400 involves implementing a secure digitaltechnology component on a TV device (which may includes a set top box),and enabling the digital technology component to securely communicatewith a server on the Internet. The communication takes place bypropagating data through a network with intermediate hops without any ofthe intermediate hops “looking side” or inspecting the data. Stateddifferently, the intermediate hops of the network merely forwards thedata to its next destination. In various embodiments, the secure digitaltechnology component is the third party payment provider component 430(which may contain Internet-related security mechanisms), whereas theintermediate hops of the network include the nodes 470, the dataequipment 480, and the data center 490 when the network is a cable TVnetwork.

FIG. 17 illustrates a simplified block diagram of a media infrastructure600 that can be used to implement the interactive shopping through a TVas discussed above. For reasons of consistency and clarity, similarcomponents of the media infrastructure 400 and the media infrastructure600 are labeled the same in FIGS. 16 and 17.

Referring to FIG. 17, the media infrastructure 600 includes a TV device410, which contains a TV commerce app 420, a third party paymentprovider component 430, a program guide 440, and firmware 450. The mediainfrastructure 600 also includes homes 460, nodes 470, the dataequipment 480, the data center 490, and the third party payment providerend point 500. Similar to the media infrastructure 400 of FIG. 16, thenodes 470, the data equipment 480, and the data center 490 are parts ofa layered analog media network. Unlike the media infrastructure 400,however, the TV device 410 is Internet-capable. The TV device 410directly communicates with the third party payment provider end point500, without any terminations on any of the intermediate hops (e.g., thenodes 470, the data equipment 480, the data center 490). In someembodiments, the TV device 410 communicates with the third party paymentprovider end point 500 in a secure manner such as through a SSLhandshake. And since there are no terminations in the intermediate hops,the security measures herein may not be as strict as in the mediainfrastructure 400. For example, channel encryption alone may besufficient for the communication between the TV device 410 and the thirdparty payment provider endpoint 500.

Thus, according to various aspects of the present disclosure, a user (ora plurality of users) is allowed to make an instant purchase from a TVdevice without requiring an account set-up or the use of a personalcomputer (or other computing device). In certain embodiments, a thirdparty payment provider digital component based on an STB ecosystem(e.g., EBIF Application) is embedded into STB (based on EBIF runtime).Changes are made to the EBIF specifications to enable security and toembed the interactive functionality into runtime. The interactivefunctionality enables an end user to directly make payments through aTV. These aspects of the present disclosure may involve one or more ofthe following elements:

-   -   User/Device registration to associate a user with a device.    -   Site key management to associate a user with a third party        payment provider, which enables a user to enter user credentials        in a secure way.    -   User authentication/authorization for a user to authenticate        with their credentials (e.g., mobile number/PIN,        username/password) and to authorize the payment.    -   Application authorization to authorize applications using third        party payment provider applications for basic or advanced level        functionality.    -   Third party payment provider controlled user interface and        interaction to dynamically determine the authentication schemes.    -   Ability to execute in-line payments (simple, split payments),        without being re-directed to the third party payment provider.

These elements offer enhanced security (e.g., site key and messageencryption) and allow full control of the user interaction, includingmultiple users on a single device.

According to various aspects of the present disclosure, an example usecase scenario for conducting a simple commercial transaction through aTV device is described below with the following steps:

-   -   1. A user clicks a “Pay” button shown in an STB application        (e.g., an STB EBIF application).    -   2. The STB EBIF application sends the “Pay” request (Pay $10 to        “ABC”), to the third party payment provider (e.g., PAYPAL) EBIF        Library.    -   3. The third party payment provider EBIF library communicates        with the EBIF runtime to authenticate, so as to use/enable        message and channel encryption. (Note: the third party payment        provider and STB vendor may have already agreed upon public keys        to be bundled with the library, so as to enable encryption).    -   4. The third party payment provider EBIF library communicates        with the third party payment provider service to register the        device.    -   5. The third party payment provider responds with a device token        and the meta-data of painting the authentication/authorization        screens.    -   6. The third party payment provider EBIF expects the end user to        register with the third party payment provider site key to        personalize, so as to make sure that the end user is comfortable        to enter their credentials.    -   7. The third party payment provider EBIF library displays a user        authentication screen, to collect the login credentials to        authenticate the user. With the authentication credentials, it        also collects details of the environment for risk and fraud        analysis.    -   8. The user enters the credentials, and an authentication        request is sent to the third party payment provider along with        the device token and additional data.    -   9. The third party payment provider responds with an        authentication token (AuthN).    -   10. The third party payment provider EBIF library displays a        user authorization screen, to collect the user authorization for        the activity (e.g., pay). The relevant request with the AuthN        Token is sent to the third party payment provider, which        responds back with an Authorization Token (AuthZ).    -   11. The third party payment provider EBIF library makes a        request to the third party payment provider service (e.g.,        adaptive payments), to execute the pay call with the        authorization token (e.g., AuthZ).    -   12. The third party payment provider EBIF library returns the        payment status to the application, with is displayed on the TV        screen.

In the manner described above, the third party payment provider is ableto provide secure on-device payments within a TV device ecosystem (e.g.,set top boxes). Thus, the users will be able to purchase products andservices directly from their TV and TV devices without any furtherinteraction with their computing devices (e.g., PC, laptop, or mobilephones).

According to various aspects of the present disclosure, a single digitalwallet can also be used to conduct electronic transactions across withdifferent merchants and across different platforms. Such digital walletmay be referred to as a “white label” wallet. Traditionally, when a useror consumer sees a product that he wishes to buy, he can go to thatmerchant who is offering the product and set up an account with themerchant. His subsequent transactions with that merchant may be donethrough this account with the merchant. However, if the user wishes tobuy a product from a different merchant, the account he set up with thefirst merchant is useless, and he would have to set up a differentaccount with the second merchant to conduct transactions with the secondmerchant.

Here, the user can set up an account with the third party paymentprovider. Once that account is set up, he may use that account toconduct different transactions with different merchants across differentplatforms. For example, say the user is watching a TV program and sees afirst product (e.g., clothing worn by the actor) that he wishes to buyfrom a first merchant. He can then log in to the third party paymentprovider in the manner described above to complete the purchase. If theuser does not have an account with the third party payment provider, heonly needs to set it up once. Afterwards, his login information can beremembered by the TV device (for example, by the set top box) for futuretransactions.

Thereafter, while watching the same TV program or even a different TVprogram, if the user sees another product (e.g., a motorcycle that theactor is riding) that he wishes to buy from a different merchant, thesame login information for the user can be used to access his accountwith the third party payment provider again. In some embodiments, theuser need not re-enter his login information if it is alreadyremembered. The third party payment provider may complete the user'spurchase with the second merchant seamlessly without requiring the userto supply additional data, thereby simplifying the transaction for theuser.

In some cases, the user may also wish to supply other types of paymentinformation other than his account access information with the thirdparty payment provider. For example, the user may elect to enter hiscredit card number or a band account number through the TV device.However, the third party payment provider may still be the back enginethat operates “behind the scenes” to facilitate the transaction. Forexample, if the user has entered a credit card number, from the user'sperspective, it is the credit card company who is handling thetransaction with a given merchant. In actuality, that merchant maydelegate the responsibilities of handling the transaction to the thirdparty payment provider. The third party payment provider may thenforward the credit card information supplied by the user to a suitablecredit card network. Similarly, had the user provided a bank accountnumber (or an account number with another financial institution), thethird party payment provider may forward the bank account number to theappropriate bank or financial institution. This is done withoutrequiring the user to understand what is going on behind the scenes. Inother words, the user may be interacting with the third party paymentprovider without realizing that he is doing so. In this manner, thethird party payment provider serves as a “one-size-fits-all” paymentplatform.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart of a method 700 for performing a transactionaccording to various aspects of the present disclosure. The method 700includes a step 710, in which a media program is displayed on atelevision set. The media program may be streamed from a media contentprovider. The method 700 includes a step 720, in which a purchasingavailability of an item associated with the media program is indicated.The indication occurs while the media program is being displayed. Insome embodiments, the indication includes showing an interactivegraphical component on the television set. The item could includephysical merchandise or digital merchandise. The item is embedded in themedia program. In some embodiments, the item includes a product thatappears in a scene of the media program while the media program is beingdisplayed. The method 700 includes a step 730, in which authenticationinformation of a prospective purchaser of the item is received. Theauthentication information may be received through a television remotecontrol. The method 700 includes a step 740, in which a purchase of theitem is completed in response to the authentication information. Thereceiving authentication information and the completing the purchase areperformed without exiting the media program.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart of a method 800 for performing a transactionaccording to various aspects of the present disclosure. The method 800includes a step 810, in which a user authentication request is receivedfrom a television device. The user authentication request contains userlogin credentials. The method 800 includes a step 820, in which the userauthentication request is granted in response to the user logincredentials. The method 800 includes a step 830, in which anauthentication permission is sent to the television device. The steps810, 820, and 830 are all performed such that the user login credentialsand the authentication permission are sent through one or moreintermediate hops without being inspected by any of the intermediatehops. In some embodiments, the steps 810, 820, and 830 are all performedby a payment provider server, and the user login credentials are logincredentials for accessing a user account with the payment providerserver. The intermediate hops may be components of a network forproviding Internet access to the television device.

FIG. 20 is a flowchart of a method 900 for performing a transactionaccording to various aspects of the present disclosure. The method 900includes a step 910, in which a request to access a payment providerserver is received from a user. The request is received through atelevision device. The request is also electronically processed by apayment provider software application that resides on the televisiondevice. The television device may include a television display and a settop box. The method 900 includes a step 920, in which user data forauthenticating the user with the payment provider server is collected inresponse to the receiving the request. The user data contains logincredentials of the user for accessing an account of the user with thepayment provider. The method 900 includes a step 920, in which the userdata is sent to the payment provider server. The step 930 is performedso that the user data is sent through one or more intermediate hopswithout being inspected by any of the intermediate hops before the userdata reaches the payment provider server. The user data is encryptedbefore it is sent. The intermediate hops are components of a network forproviding Internet access to the television device.

FIG. 21 is a flowchart of a method 1000 for performing a transactionaccording to various aspects of the present disclosure. The method 1000includes a step 1010, in which a first request to conduct a firsttransaction with a first merchant is received through a televisiondevice. The first request contains a first payment information providedby a user. The method 1000 includes a step 1020, in which the firstrequest is facilitated based on the first payment information. Themethod 1000 includes a step 1030, in which the second request to conducta second transaction with a second merchant is received through thetelevision device. The second merchant is different from the firstmerchant. The second request contains a second payment information. Themethod 1000 includes a step 1040, in which the second request isfacilitated based on the second payment information. The facilitatingthe first request and the facilitating the second request are bothperformed by a third party payment provider.

FIG. 22 is a block diagram of a computer system 1300 suitable forimplementing various methods and devices described herein, for example,the various method steps of the methods 700, 800, 900, or 1000. Invarious implementations, the devices capable of performing the steps maycomprise a network communications device (e.g., mobile cellular phone,laptop, personal computer, tablet, etc.), a network computing device(e.g., a network server, a computer processor, an electroniccommunications interface, etc), or another suitable device. Accordingly,it should be appreciated that the devices capable of implementing themethods 700, 800, 900, and 1000 may be implemented as the computersystem 1300 in a manner as follows.

In accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure, thecomputer system 1300, such as a network server or a mobilecommunications device, includes a bus component 1302 or othercommunication mechanisms for communicating information, whichinterconnects subsystems and components, such as processing component1304 (e.g., processor, micro-controller, digital signal processor (DSP),etc.), system memory component 1306 (e.g., RAM), static storagecomponent 1308 (e.g., ROM), disk drive component 1310 (e.g., magnetic oroptical), network interface component 1312 (e.g., modem or Ethernetcard), display component 1314 (e.g., cathode ray tube (CRT) or liquidcrystal display (LCD)), input component 1316 (e.g., keyboard), cursorcontrol component 1318 (e.g., mouse or trackball), and image capturecomponent 1320 (e.g., analog or digital camera). In one implementation,disk drive component 1310 may comprise a database having one or moredisk drive components.

In accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure, computersystem 1300 performs specific operations by processor 1304 executing oneor more sequences of one or more instructions contained in system memorycomponent 1306. Such instructions may be read into system memorycomponent 1306 from another computer readable medium, such as staticstorage component 1308 or disk drive component 1310. In otherembodiments, hard-wired circuitry may be used in place of (or incombination with) software instructions to implement the presentdisclosure.

Logic may be encoded in a computer readable medium, which may refer toany medium that participates in providing instructions to processor 1304for execution. Such a medium may take many forms, including but notlimited to, non-volatile media and volatile media. In one embodiment,the computer readable medium is non-transitory. In variousimplementations, non-volatile media includes optical or magnetic disks,such as disk drive component 1310, and volatile media includes dynamicmemory, such as system memory component 1306. In one aspect, data andinformation related to execution instructions may be transmitted tocomputer system 1300 via a transmission media, such as in the form ofacoustic or light waves, including those generated during radio wave andinfrared data communications. In various implementations, transmissionmedia may include coaxial cables, copper wire, and fiber optics,including wires that comprise bus 1302.

Some common forms of computer readable media includes, for example,floppy disk, flexible disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, any other magneticmedium, CD-ROM, any other optical medium, punch cards, paper tape, anyother physical medium with patterns of holes, RAM, PROM, EPROM,FLASH-EPROM, any other memory chip or cartridge, carrier wave, or anyother medium from which a computer is adapted to read.

In various embodiments of the present disclosure, execution ofinstruction sequences to practice the present disclosure may beperformed by computer system 1300. In various other embodiments of thepresent disclosure, a plurality of computer systems 1300 coupled bycommunication link 1330 (e.g., a communications network, such as a LAN,WLAN, PTSN, and/or various other wired or wireless networks, includingtelecommunications, mobile, and cellular phone networks) may performinstruction sequences to practice the present disclosure in coordinationwith one another.

Computer system 1300 may transmit and receive messages, data,information and instructions, including one or more programs (i.e.,application code) through communication link 1330 and communicationinterface 1312. Received program code may be executed by processor 1304as received and/or stored in disk drive component 1310 or some othernon-volatile storage component for execution.

Where applicable, various embodiments provided by the present disclosuremay be implemented using hardware, software, or combinations of hardwareand software. Also, where applicable, the various hardware componentsand/or software components set forth herein may be combined intocomposite components comprising software, hardware, and/or both withoutdeparting from the spirit of the present disclosure. Where applicable,the various hardware components and/or software components set forthherein may be separated into sub-components comprising software,hardware, or both without departing from the scope of the presentdisclosure. In addition, where applicable, it is contemplated thatsoftware components may be implemented as hardware components andvice-versa.

Software, in accordance with the present disclosure, such as computerprogram code and/or data, may be stored on one or more computer readablemediums. It is also contemplated that software identified herein may beimplemented using one or more general purpose or specific purposecomputers and/or computer systems, networked and/or otherwise. Whereapplicable, the ordering of various steps described herein may bechanged, combined into composite steps, and/or separated into sub-stepsto provide features described herein.

It should be appreciated that like reference numerals are used toidentify like elements illustrated in one or more of the figures,wherein these labeled figures are for purposes of illustratingembodiments of the present disclosure and not for purposes of limitingthe same.

It is also understood that although a television device has been used toillustrate the various concepts of the present disclosure, other typesof media display devices may also be used in different embodiments. Forexample, a computer tablet or a smart phone may also be used to performthe various functions of the television set discussed above (e.g.,displaying a media program, etc).

One of the broader forms of the present disclosure involves a method ofconducting a transaction. The method includes: displaying a mediaprogram on a television set; indicating, while the media program isbeing displayed, an item associated with the media program is availablefor purchase; receiving authentication information of a prospectivepurchaser of the item; and completing a purchase of the item in responseto the authentication information.

In some embodiments, the displaying the media program comprisesstreaming the media program from a media content provider to thetelevision set.

In some embodiments, the indicating comprises showing an interactivegraphical component on the television set.

In some embodiments, the item comprises one of: physical merchandise anddigital merchandise.

In some embodiments, the item is embedded in the media program.

In some embodiments, the item comprises a product that appears in ascene of the media program while the media program is being displayed.

In some embodiments, the receiving the authentication information andthe completing the purchase are each performed without exiting the mediaprogram.

In some embodiments, the receiving the authentication information isperformed through a television remote control.

Another one of the broader forms of the present disclosure involves anapparatus comprising a non-transitory, tangible machine-readable storagemedium storing a computer program, wherein the computer program containsmachine-readable instructions that when executed electronically byprocessors, perform: displaying a media program on a television set;indicating, while the media program is being displayed, an itemassociated with the media program is available for purchase; receivingauthentication information of a prospective purchaser of the item; andcompleting a purchase of the item in response to the authenticationinformation.

In some embodiments, the instructions for displaying the media programcomprise instructions for streaming the media program from a mediacontent provider to the television set.

In some embodiments, the instructions for indicating the item isavailable for purchase comprise instructions for showing an interactivegraphical component on the television set.

In some embodiments, the item comprises one of: physical merchandise anddigital merchandise.

In some embodiments, the item is embedded in the media program.

In some embodiments, the item comprises a product that appears in ascene of the media program while the media program is being displayed.

In some embodiments, the instructions for receiving the authenticationinformation and the instructions for completing the purchase are eachexecuted without forcing the media program to exit.

In some embodiments, the instructions for receiving the authenticationinformation comprise instructions for receiving the authenticationinformation through a television remote control.

Yet another one of the broader forms of the present disclosure involvesan apparatus. The apparatus includes: a television set operable to:display a media program; and indicate, while the media program is beingdisplayed, an item associated with the media program is available forpurchase; and a set top box coupled to the television set, wherein theset top box is operable to: receive authentication information of aprospective purchaser of the item; and complete a purchase of the itemin response to the authentication information.

In some embodiments, the television set is operable to show aninteractive graphical component to the prospective purchase to indicatethe item is available for purchase.

In some embodiments, the item comprises one of: physical merchandise anddigital merchandise.

In some embodiments, the item is embedded in the media program.

In some embodiments, the set top box is operable to receive theauthentication information and to complete the purchase without causingthe television set to exit the media program.

In some embodiments, the set top box is operable to stream the mediaprogram from a media content provider to the television set.

Another one of the broader forms of the present disclosure involves amethod of conducting an electronic transaction. The method includes:receiving, from a television device, a user authentication request,wherein the user authentication request contains user login credentials;granting the user authentication request in response to the user logincredentials; and thereafter sending an authentication permission to thetelevision device; wherein the receiving the user authentication requestand the sending the authentication permission are each performed suchthat the user login credentials and the authentication permission aresent through one or more intermediate hops without being inspected byany of the intermediate hops.

In some embodiments, the receiving, the granting, and the sending areperformed by a payment provider server; and the user login credentialsare login credentials for accessing a user account with the paymentprovider server.

In some embodiments, the granting of the user authentication requestcomprises generating an authentication token; and the sending theauthentication permission comprises sending the authentication token tothe television device.

In some embodiments, the user authentication request is encrypted whenit is received, and the method further includes: decrypting the userauthentication request after it is received; and encrypting theauthentication permission before it is sent.

In some embodiments, the intermediate hops are components of a networkfor providing Internet access to the television device.

In some embodiments, the network comprises one of: a cable televisionnetwork and a satellite television network.

In some embodiments, the sending the authentication permission isperformed such that the authentication permission is sent to a paymentprovider software application that resides on the television device.

In some embodiments, the television device comprises a televisiondisplay and a set top box.

Another one of the broader forms of the present disclosure involves anapparatus comprising a non-transitory, tangible machine-readable storagemedium storing a computer program, wherein the computer program containsmachine-readable instructions that when executed electronically byprocessors, perform: receiving, from a television device, a userauthentication request, wherein the user authentication request containsuser login credentials; granting the user authentication request inresponse to the user login credentials; and thereafter sending anauthentication permission to the television device; wherein thereceiving the user authentication request and the sending theauthentication permission are each performed such that the user logincredentials and the authentication permission are sent through one ormore intermediate hops without being inspected by any of theintermediate hops.

In some embodiments, the instructions for the receiving, the granting,and the sending are executed by a payment provider server; and the userlogin credentials are login credentials for accessing a user accountwith the payment provider server.

In some embodiments, the instructions for granting the userauthentication request comprise instructions for generating anauthentication token; and the instructions for sending theauthentication permission comprise instructions for sending theauthentication token to the television device.

In some embodiments, the user authentication request is encrypted whenit is received, and wherein the instructions further comprise:instructions for decrypting the user authentication request after it isreceived; and instructions for encrypting the authentication permissionbefore it is sent.

In some embodiments, the intermediate hops are components of a networkfor providing Internet access to the television device.

In some embodiments, the network comprises one of: a cable televisionnetwork and a satellite television network.

In some embodiments, the instructions for sending the authenticationpermission are executed such that the authentication permission is sentto a payment provider software application that resides on thetelevision device.

In some embodiments, the television device comprises a televisiondisplay and a set top box.

Yet another one of the broader forms of the present disclosure involvesa method of conducting an electronic transaction. The method includes:receiving a request to access a payment provider server from a user,wherein the request is received through a television device; collecting,in response to the receiving the request, user data for authenticatingthe user with the payment provider server; and sending the user data tothe payment provider server, wherein the sending the user data isperformed so that the user data is sent through one or more intermediatehops without being inspected by any of the intermediate hops before theuser data reaches the payment provider server.

In some embodiments, the user data comprises login credentials of theuser for accessing an account of the user with the payment provider.

In some embodiments, the receiving of the request is performed such thatthe request is electronically processed by a payment provider softwareapplication that resides on the television device.

In some embodiments, the sending of the user data comprises encryptingthe user data.

In some embodiments, the method further includes: receiving userauthentication information from the payment provider server after thesending the user data.

In some embodiments, the television device comprises a televisiondisplay and a set top box.

In some embodiments, the intermediate hops are components of a networkfor providing Internet access to the television device.

Another one of the broader forms of the present disclosure involves amethod of conducting a transaction. The method includes: receiving,through a television device, a first request to conduct a firsttransaction with a first merchant, wherein the first request contains afirst payment information provided by a user; facilitating the firstrequest based on the first payment information; receiving, through thetelevision device, a second request to conduct a second transaction witha second merchant different from the first merchant, wherein the secondrequest contains a second payment information; and facilitating thesecond request based on the second payment information; wherein thefacilitating the first request and the facilitating the second requestare both performed by a third party payment provider.

In some embodiments, the first payment information and the secondpayment information each include at least one of: credentials foraccessing an account of the user with the third party payment provider,and a credit card number of the user, and a bank account of the user.

In some embodiments, the facilitating of the first request and thefacilitating of the second request include granting the first requestand granting the second request, if the first payment information andthe second payment information include the credentials for accessing theaccount of the user with the third party payment provider.

In some embodiments, the facilitating of the first request and thefacilitating of the second request include forwarding the first requestand forwarding the second request to a respective financial institution,if the first payment information and the second payment informationinclude the credit card number or the bank account of the user.

In some embodiments, the first payment information and the secondpayment information are the same.

In some embodiments, the method further includes: remembering at leastone of the first payment information and the second payment informationfor future transactions of the user.

In some embodiments, the first transaction is a purchase of a firstproduct offered by the first merchant in response to the first productbeing displayed on the television device; and the second transaction isa purchase of a second product offered by the second merchant inresponse to the second product being displayed on the television device.

In some embodiments, the first product and the second product are eachintegrated in one or more television programs being displayed on thetelevision device.

Yet another one of the broader forms of the present disclosure involvesan apparatus comprising a non-transitory, tangible machine-readablestorage medium storing a computer program, wherein the computer programcontains machine-readable instructions that when executed electronicallyby processors, perform: receiving, through a television device, a firstrequest to conduct a first transaction with a first merchant, whereinthe first request contains a first payment information provided by auser; facilitating the first request based on the first paymentinformation; receiving, through the television device, a second requestto conduct a second transaction with a second merchant different fromthe first merchant, wherein the second request contains a second paymentinformation; and facilitating the second request based on the secondpayment information; wherein the facilitating the first request and thefacilitating the second request are both performed by a third partypayment provider.

In some embodiments, the first payment information and the secondpayment information each include at least one of: credentials foraccessing an account of the user with the third party payment provider,and a credit card number of the user, and a bank account of the user.

In some embodiments, the instructions for facilitating the first requestand the instructions for facilitating the second request includeinstructions for granting the first request and instructions forgranting the second request, if the first payment information and thesecond payment information include the credentials for accessing theaccount of the user with the third party payment provider.

In some embodiments, the instructions for facilitating the first requestand the instructions for facilitating the second request includeinstructions for forwarding the first request and instructions forforwarding the second request to a respective financial institution, ifthe first payment information and the second payment information includethe credit card number or the bank account of the user.

In some embodiments, the first payment information and the secondpayment information are the same.

In some embodiments, the computer program further contains: instructionsfor remembering at least one of the first payment information and thesecond payment information for future transactions of the user.

In some embodiments, the first transaction is a purchase of a firstproduct offered by the first merchant in response to the first productbeing displayed on the television device; and the second transaction isa purchase of a second product offered by the second merchant inresponse to the second product being displayed on the television device.

In some embodiments, the first product and the second product are eachintegrated in one or more television programs being displayed on thetelevision device.

Yet another one of the broader forms of the present disclosure involvesa method of conducting a transaction. The method includes: receiving,from a user, a first purchasing request to buy a first product from afirst merchant, wherein the first purchasing request is entered througha television device and contains login credentials for accessing anaccount of the user with a payment provider; authorizing the firstpurchasing request based on the login credentials; receiving, from theuser, a second purchasing request to buy a second product from a secondmerchant different from the first merchant, wherein the secondpurchasing request is entered through the television device and containsthe login credentials for accessing the account of the user; andauthorizing the second purchasing request based on the logincredentials.

In some embodiments, the authorizing the first purchasing request andthe authorizing the second purchasing request are both performed by aserver of the payment provider.

In some embodiments, the login credentials are remembered for the secondpurchasing request.

In some embodiments, the first purchasing request is received inresponse to the first product being demonstrated in a television programplaying on the television device; and the second purchasing request isreceived in response to the second product being demonstrated in thetelevision program playing on the television device.

The foregoing disclosure is not intended to limit the present disclosureto the precise forms or particular fields of use disclosed. As such, itis contemplated that various alternate embodiments and/or modificationsto the present disclosure, whether explicitly described or impliedherein, are possible in light of the disclosure. Having thus describedembodiments of the present disclosure, persons of ordinary skill in theart will recognize that changes may be made in form and detail withoutdeparting from the scope of the present disclosure. Thus, the presentdisclosure is limited only by the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of conducting a transaction, comprising:receiving, from a user, a first purchasing request to buy a firstproduct from a first merchant, wherein the first purchasing request isentered through a media display device in response to an automaticallydisplayed first visual notification that the first product is availablefor purchase, wherein the first visual notification is displayed whilethe first product is being demonstrated in a first scene of a mediaprogram playing on the media display device, and wherein the firstpurchasing request contains login credentials for accessing an accountof the user with a payment provider; authorizing the first purchasingrequest based on the login credentials; prompting the user whether thelogin credentials should be remembered for subsequent purchases;thereafter receiving, from the user, a second purchasing request to buya second product from a second merchant different from the firstmerchant, wherein the second purchasing request is entered through themedia display device in response to an automatically displayed secondvisual notification that the second product is available for purchase,wherein the second visual notification is displayed while the secondproduct is being demonstrated in a second scene of the media programplaying on the media display device, and wherein the second purchasingrequest contains the login credentials for accessing the account of theuser; and authorizing the second purchasing request based on the logincredentials if the user has indicated that the login credentials shouldbe remembered for subsequent purchases in response to the prompting. 2.The method of claim 1, wherein the authorizing the first purchasingrequest and the authorizing the second purchasing request are bothperformed by a server of the payment provider.
 3. The method of claim 1,wherein the login credentials are remembered for the second purchasingrequest, and wherein the authorizing the first purchasing request andthe authorizing the second purchasing request are each conducted atleast in part using electronic tokens.
 4. The method of claim 1, whereinthe media display device includes a television set.
 5. The method ofclaim 4, wherein the media display device includes a set-top box (STB).6. The method of claim 1, wherein the first product and the secondproduct each comprise a physical product or a virtual product.
 7. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the first visual notification and the secondvisual notification each comprise a text box.
 8. The method of claim 1,wherein the first purchasing request and the second purchasing requesteach contain a credit card information of the user or a bank accountinformation of the user.
 9. The method of claim 8, further comprisingforwarding the credit card information or the band account informationto a financial institution.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein at leastone of: the receiving the first purchasing request, the authorizing thefirst purchasing request, the prompting the user, the receiving thesecond purchasing request, and the authorizing the second purchasingrequest are performed by one or more electronic processors.
 11. Anon-transitory computer readable medium comprising executableinstructions that when executed by a processor, causes the processor toperform the steps of: receiving, from a user, a first purchasing requestto buy a first product from a first merchant, wherein the firstpurchasing request is entered through a media display device in responseto an automatically displayed first visual notification that the firstproduct is available for purchase, wherein the first visual notificationis displayed while the first product is being demonstrated in a firstscene of a media program playing on the media display device, andwherein the first purchasing request contains login credentials foraccessing an account of the user with a payment provider; authorizingthe first purchasing request based on the login credentials; promptingthe user whether the login credentials should be remembered forsubsequent purchases; thereafter receiving, from the user, a secondpurchasing request to buy a second product from a second merchantdifferent from the first merchant, wherein the second purchasing requestis entered through the media display device in response to anautomatically displayed second visual notification that the secondproduct is available for purchase, wherein the second visualnotification is displayed while the second product is being demonstratedin a second scene of the media program playing on the media displaydevice, and wherein the second purchasing request contains the logincredentials for accessing the account of the user; and authorizing thesecond purchasing request based on the login credentials if the user hasindicated that the login credentials should be remembered for subsequentpurchases in response to the prompting.
 12. The non-transitory computerreadable medium of claim 11, wherein the authorizing the firstpurchasing request and the authorizing the second purchasing request areboth performed by a server of the payment provider.
 13. Thenon-transitory computer readable medium of claim 11, wherein the logincredentials are remembered for the second purchasing request, andwherein the authorizing the first purchasing request and the authorizingthe second purchasing request are each conducted at least in part usingelectronic tokens.
 14. The non-transitory computer readable medium ofclaim 11, wherein: the first scene is different from the second scene.15. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 11, wherein themedia display device includes a television set.
 16. The non-transitorycomputer readable medium of claim 15, wherein the media display deviceincludes a set-top box (STB).
 17. The non-transitory computer readablemedium of claim 11, wherein the first product and the second producteach comprise a physical product or a virtual product.
 18. Thenon-transitory computer readable medium of claim 11, wherein the firstvisual notification and the second visual notification each comprise atext box.
 19. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 11,wherein the first purchasing request and the second purchasing requesteach contain a credit card information of the user or a bank accountinformation of the user.
 20. The non-transitory computer readable mediumof claim 19, wherein the steps further comprise forwarding the creditcard information or the band account information to a financialinstitution.
 21. The method of claim 1, wherein the first scene isdifferent from the second scene.